Search result relevance based on content associated with software applications

ABSTRACT

Techniques include receiving a search query from a user device, determining native application states that are accessible by a user of the user device, and identifying application state records based on the search query and the application states. Each application state record includes an application access mechanism (AAM) and application state information (ASI). The AAM references a native application and indicates operations for the application to perform. The ASI describes a state of the native application after the application has performed the operations. Identifying the application state records based on the application states includes determining that the ASI included in each record describes one of the application states. The techniques also include selecting AAMs from the identified application state records and transmitting the AAMs to the user device. Additional techniques include generating result scores for application state records identified based on the search query using the application states.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of prior application Ser.No. 14/831,563, filed on Aug. 20, 2015, which issues as U.S. Pat. No.9,946,766 on Apr. 17, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

This disclosure generally relates to the field of search, and moreparticularly to techniques for generating search results that correspondto states within software applications.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, the use of computers, smartphones, and otherInternet-connected computing devices has grown significantly.Correspondingly, the number of software applications (apps) availablefor such computing devices has also grown. Today, many diverse apps canbe accessed on a number of different computing devices, including, butnot limited to, smartphones, personal computers, automobiles, andtelevisions. These apps can include business driven apps, games,educational apps, news apps, shopping apps, messaging apps, mediastreaming apps, and social networking apps, as some examples. Because ofthe large number of apps available today and the wide range offunctionality they provide, computing device users often require theability to search for and access specific app functionality.

SUMMARY

In one example, a method includes receiving a search query from a userdevice, determining one or more native application (app) states that areaccessible by a user of the user device, and identifying one or more appstate records based on the search query and based on the one or morenative app states. Each app state record includes an app accessmechanism (AAM) and app state information (ASI). The AAM references anative app and indicates one or more operations for the native app toperform. The ASI describes a state of the native app after the nativeapp has performed the one or more operations. In this example,identifying the one or more app state records based on the one or morenative app states includes determining that the ASI included in each appstate record describes one of the one or more native app states. Themethod also includes selecting one or more AAMs from the identified oneor more app state records, and transmitting the selected one or moreAAMs to the user device.

In another example, a method includes receiving a search query from auser device, and identifying one or more app state records based on thesearch query. Each app state record includes an AAM and ASI. The AAMreferences a native app and indicates one or more operations for thenative app to perform. The ASI describes a state of the native app afterthe native app has performed the one or more operations. The methodfurther includes determining one or more native app states that areaccessible by a user of the user device, generating a result score foreach of the identified one or more app state records based on whetherthe ASI included in the app state record describes one of the one ormore native app states, ordering the identified one or more app staterecords based on the one or more result scores, and selecting one ormore app state records from the ordered one or more app state records.The method also includes selecting one or more AAMs from the selectedone or more app state records, and transmitting the selected one or moreAAMs to the user device.

In another example, a method includes transmitting, using a user device,a search query to a search system configured to generate search resultsin response to a received search query, and receiving search resultsfrom the search system at the user device in response to transmittingthe search query. In this example, the search results include one ormore AAMs that each reference a native app and indicate one or moreoperations for the native app to perform. Also in this example, thenative app performing the one or more operations sets the native appinto a state of the native app. The method further includes identifying,using the user device, one or more native app states that are accessibleby a user of the user device. The method also includes, for each of theone or more AAMs, determining, using the user device, whether the nativeapp referenced by the AAM performing the one or more operationsindicated by the AAM sets the native app into any of the one or morenative app states, and displaying the one or more AAMs at the userdevice based on the determination.

In another example, a system includes one or more computing devicesconfigured to receive a search query from a user device, determine oneor more native app states that are accessible by a user of the userdevice, and identify one or more app state records based on the searchquery and based on the one or more native app states. Each app staterecord includes an AAM and ASI. The AAM references a native app andindicates one or more operations for the native app to perform. The ASIdescribes a state of the native app after the native app has performedthe one or more operations. In this example, to identify the one or moreapp state records based on the one or more native app states, the one ormore computing devices are configured to determine that the ASI includedin each app state record describes one of the one or more native appstates. The one or more computing devices are also configured to selectone or more AAMs from the identified one or more app state records, andtransmit the selected one or more AAMs to the user device.

In another example, a system includes one or more computing devicesconfigured to receive a search query from a user device, and identifyone or more app state records based on the search query. Each app staterecord includes an AAM and ASI. The AAM references a native app andindicates one or more operations for the native app to perform. The ASIdescribes a state of the native app after the native app has performedthe one or more operations. The one or more computing devices arefurther configured to determine one or more native app states that areaccessible by a user of the user device, generate a result score foreach of the identified one or more app state records based on whetherthe ASI included in the app state record describes one of the one ormore native app states, order the identified one or more app staterecords based on the one or more result scores, and select one or moreapp state records from the ordered one or more app state records. Theone or more computing devices are also configured to select one or moreAAMs from the selected one or more app state records, and transmit theselected one or more AAMs to the user device.

In another example, a system includes one or more computing devicesconfigured to transmit, using a user device, a search query to a searchsystem configured to generate search results in response to a receivedsearch query, and receive search results from the search system at theuser device in response to transmitting the search query. In thisexample, the search results include one or more AAMs that each referencea native app and indicate one or more operations for the native app toperform. Also in this example, the native app performing the one or moreoperations sets the native app into a state of the native app. The oneor more computing devices are further configured to identify, using theuser device, one or more native app states that are accessible by a userof the user device. The one or more computing devices are alsoconfigured to, for each of the one or more AAMs, determine, using theuser device, whether the native app referenced by the AAM performing theone or more operations indicated by the AAM sets the native app into anyof the one or more native app states, and display the one or more AAMsat the user device based on the determination.

In another example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumincludes instructions that cause one or more computing devices toreceive a search query from a user device, determine one or more nativeapp states that are accessible by a user of the user device, andidentify one or more app state records based on the search query andbased on the one or more native app states. Each app state recordincludes an AAM and ASI. The AAM references a native app and indicatesone or more operations for the native app to perform. The ASI describesa state of the native app after the native app has performed the one ormore operations. In this example, the instructions that cause the one ormore computing devices to identify the one or more app state recordsbased on the one or more native app states include instructions thatcause the one or more computing devices to determine that the ASIincluded in each app state record describes one of the one or morenative app states. The instructions also cause the one or more computingdevices to select one or more AAMs from the identified one or more appstate records, and transmit the selected one or more AAMs to the userdevice.

In another example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumincludes instructions that cause one or more computing devices toreceive a search query from a user device, and identify one or more appstate records based on the search query. Each app state record includesan AAM and ASI. The AAM references a native app and indicates one ormore operations for the native app to perform. The ASI describes a stateof the native app after the native app has performed the one or moreoperations. The instructions further cause the one or more computingdevices to determine one or more native app states that are accessibleby a user of the user device, generate a result score for each of theidentified one or more app state records based on whether the ASIincluded in the app state record describes one of the one or more nativeapp states, order the identified one or more app state records based onthe one or more result scores, and select one or more app state recordsfrom the ordered one or more app state records. The instructions alsocause the one or more computing devices to select one or more AAMs fromthe selected one or more app state records, and transmit the selectedone or more AAMs to the user device.

In another example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumincludes instructions that cause one or more computing devices totransmit, using a user device, a search query to a search systemconfigured to generate search results in response to a received searchquery, and receive search results from the search system at the userdevice in response to transmitting the search query. In this example,the search results include one or more AAMs that each reference a nativeapp and indicate one or more operations for the native app to perform.Also in this example, the native app performing the one or moreoperations sets the native app into a state of the native app. Theinstructions further cause the one or more computing devices toidentify, using the user device, one or more native app states that areaccessible by a user of the user device. The instructions also cause theone or more computing devices to, for each of the one or more AAMs,determine, using the user device, whether the native app referenced bythe AAM performing the one or more operations indicated by the AAM setsthe native app into any of the one or more native app states, anddisplay the one or more AAMs at the user device based on thedetermination.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The details of one or more examples are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features, objects, andadvantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and fromthe claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment that includes a search system,a content determination system, one or more user devices, one or moredata sources, and one or more application (app) programming interfaces(APIs) that communicate via a network.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a user device in communication with asearch system and a content determination system.

FIG. 3A is a functional block diagram of an example search system.

FIG. 3B is a functional block diagram of an example search module.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example of a user device in communicationwith a search system and a content determination system.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate example app state records.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate example data structures for storing contentinformation.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, 8A, 8B, and 8C depict example graphical userinterfaces (GUIs) that may be generated on a user device according tothe present disclosure.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flow diagrams illustrating example methods forgenerating search results based on a search query and contentinformation at a search system.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are flow diagrams illustrating example methods forgenerating search results based on a search query and contentinformation at a user device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The figures and the following description relate to exampleimplementations by way of illustration only. It should be noted thatfrom the following discussion, alternative implementations of thestructures and methods disclosed herein may be readily recognized asviable alternatives that may be employed without departing from thescope of this disclosure.

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of search, and,more particularly, to techniques for generating and displaying searchresults at a computing device based on content (e.g., media) of softwareapplications (apps) associated with a user of the device. Using thetechniques described herein may, in some examples, improve search resultrelevance and enhance user experience. According to the disclosedtechniques, a user of a user device may have access to one or more appstates of one or more native apps (e.g., any native apps that are eitherinstalled or not installed on the user device). In this example, eachapp state may correspond to an entry in one of the native apps for anytype of media (e.g., a song, a podcast, or other audio, a movie, atelevision show episode, or other video, a photograph, a picture, oranother image) or document (e.g., a magazine article, an e-book, orother text, which may also include image data). For example, the appstates may be accessible by the user in the native apps as a result ofthe user performing any combination of the following. As one example,the user may have access to each of one or more of the app states in oneor more of the native apps by virtue of using (e.g., launching) the apps(e.g., without first creating a user account for, or registering with,each app). As another example, the user may have created a user accountfor (e.g., registered with) each of one or more of the native apps(e.g., for free, or for a fee), thereby gaining access to each of one ormore of the app states in the apps. As still another example, the usermay have obtained (e.g., purchased, or received free of charge) accessto each of one or more of the app states in the corresponding one of thenative apps (e.g., by first creating a free or paid user account for theapp, or without using a user account associated with the app).

Consistent with the techniques described herein, the user may input asearch query (e.g., a text string) into a search field of a search appexecuting on the user device. The user may then cause the user device(e.g., the search app) to transmit the search query to a search system.The search system may receive the search query from the user device. Insome examples, the search system further determines the native appstates that are accessible by the user using any of a variety oftechniques. As one example, the search system may receive an indicationof the native app states from the user device (e.g., along with thesearch query, or separately). As another example, the search system mayretrieve the indication of the native app states from a data store(e.g., a content registry). As still another example, the search systemmay determine the native app states by interacting with other resources(e.g., app programming interfaces (APIs) associated with thecorresponding native apps) using information (e.g., indications of theapps and associated user login credentials) received from the userdevice 102 or another location.

In these examples, upon receiving the search query from the user deviceand determining the native app states that are accessible by the user,the search system may generate one or more search results that eachspecifies an app state of a native app based on the search query. Thesearch system may then filter the search results based on the determinednative app states. In particular, the search system may generate thesearch results such that each result is both responsive to (e.g.,provides a function described by) the search query and specifies one ofthe native app states that are accessible by the user. Alternatively,the search system may rank (e.g., order) the search results based on thenative app states. Specifically, the search system may rank each searchresult based on whether the result specifies one of the native appstates.

The search system may then transmit the filtered or ranked searchresults to the user device that generated the search query. The userdevice may receive the search results from the search system and displaythe results to the user (e.g., as one or more user selectable links). Insome examples, the search system also transmits accessibility dataassociated with one or more of the search results to the user device(e.g., along with the results). The user device may use theaccessibility data as part of displaying the search results to indicateto the user (e.g., via text and/or image data) whether the user hasaccess to the corresponding one or more app states.

In other examples, the search system may receive the search query fromthe user device and generate search results that are responsive to thesearch query, in a similar manner as described above. The search systemmay then transmit the search results to the user device. The user devicemay receive the search results from the search system. In theseexamples, the user device may further determine the native app statesthat are accessible by the user (e.g., using internal and/or externalresources). The user device may then display the search results to theuser (e.g., as one or more user selectable links) based on thedetermined native app states. As one example, the user device may filterthe search results based on the native app states (e.g., display onlythose of the results that specify any of the native app states), in asimilar manner as described above with reference to the search system.As another example, the user device may rank the search results based onthe native app states (e.g., order each result based on whether theresult specifies any of the native app states), as also previouslydescribed with reference to the search system. In some examples, theuser device displays the filtered or ranked search results such thateach of one or more of the results indicates to the user (e.g., via textand/or image data) whether the user is able to access the correspondingapp state.

In the examples provided above, the user may select one or more of thefiltered or ranked search results (e.g., one or more of the associateduser selectable links) on the user device. Upon the user selecting asearch result (e.g., an associated user selectable link), the userdevice may launch the corresponding native app and set the app into anapp state specified by the selected result (e.g., by the selected userselectable link). The user may then interact with the app state on theuser device (e.g., preview and/or perform a function provided by the appstate). In additional examples, upon the user selecting the searchresult, the user device may download and install the native app. Afterinstalling the native app, the user device may launch the app and setthe app into the app state specified by the selected result, in asimilar manner as described above. In further examples, upon the userselecting the search result, the user device may launch a web browserapp and access an app state of a web-based app. In this example, theweb-based app state may be equivalent (e.g., analogous) to the app stateof the native app described above.

In this manner, the techniques described herein may improve searchresult relevance and enhance user experience. As one example, bygenerating the search results using both the search query and thedetermination of the native app states that are accessible by the user,the techniques may improve search result relevance. Specifically, byidentifying only app states of native apps that both match the searchquery and are accessible to the user, the search results may be morerelevant to the user than search results generated using the searchquery alone. Additionally, by ranking app states of native appsidentified using the search query such that app states that areaccessible by the user are ranked higher than other app states, those ofthe search results that are more relevant to the user may be displayedearlier than other search results. As another example, by limiting thesearch results to those that specify app states that are accessible tothe user, or by ranking the results based on whether the user is able toaccess the corresponding app states, the results may enable the user tomore easily access the functionality provided by the results, therebyenhancing the user's experience.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram that illustrates an exampleenvironment including a search system 100, a content determinationsystem 108, one or more user devices 102, one or more data sources 104,and one or more APIs (e.g., servers) 120 (e.g., API(s) 120-1 . . .120-N) that communicate via a network 106. The network 106 through whichthe above-described systems, devices, and APIs communicate may includeany type of network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), and/or the Internet. As shown in FIG. 1, the searchsystem 100 includes a search module 110, a search result generationmodule 114, and a search data store 112, which are described in greaterdetail below. As further shown, the content determination system 108includes a content determination module 116 and a content data store118, which are also described in greater detail below. In some examples,the content determination system 108 is a part of the search system 100,a part of any of the user device(s) 102, a part of another system ordevice, or a stand-alone system or device. As also shown, each of theAPI(s) 120 includes an API data store 122 (e.g., one of one or more APIdata stores 122-1 . . . 122-N), which are also described in greaterdetail below.

In the example of FIG. 1, the search system 100 receives a search query(e.g., a text string) from one of the user device(s) 102. As describedherein, a user of the user device 102 may input the search query intothe user device 102. In some examples, the search system 100 (e.g., thecontent determination system 108) further determines one or more nativeapp states that are each accessible by the user. As described herein,each native app state may correspond to an entry in any native app(e.g., a native app that is installed or not installed on the userdevice 102) for any type of media (e.g., a song, a podcast, or otheraudio, a movie, a television show episode, or other video, a photograph,a picture, or another image) or document (e.g., a magazine article, ane-book, or other text, which may also include image data). As alsodescribed herein, the native app states may be accessible to the user inthe native apps by virtue of the user using any of the apps (e.g.,without first creating a user account for each app), creating a useraccount for any of the apps (e.g., for free, or for a fee), and/orobtaining (e.g., for a fee, or free of charge) access to the stateswithin the apps (e.g., after creating a free or paid user account foreach app).

In some examples, the search system 100 determines the native app statesthat are accessible to the user by receiving an indication of the statesfrom the user device 102 (e.g., directly, or via another system ordevice) and/or by retrieving the indication from a data store (e.g., acontent registry). The indication may be referred to herein as contentinformation. Additionally, or alternatively, the search system 100(e.g., the content determination system 108) may determine the nativeapp states by querying one or more APIs (e.g., one or more of the API(s)120) associated with the corresponding native apps (e.g., usingassociated user login credentials, such as usernames and passwords). Inthis example, an API associated with a native app may refer to one ormore (e.g., remote) servers that include data (e.g., within an API datastore of the API) that is used by the app. For example, the searchsystem 100 may query the APIs to access the native app states and/or toverify that the user has access to the states in the native apps. Insome examples, the search system 100 determines the APIs associated withthe native apps and, e.g., corresponding user login credentials, byretrieving information from the user device 102 and/or another location.The information may indicate APIs associated with native apps for whichthe user has obtained user accounts (e.g., having user logincredentials), and/or for which no user account is required. In any case,in response to querying the APIs, the search system 100 may determinethe native app states that are accessible by the user. The determinednative app states may also be referred to herein as content information.

The search system 100 then generates one or more search results based onthe search query and, e.g., based on the content information.Specifically, the search system 100 generates the search results usinginformation included in one or more app state records stored in thesearch data store 112. As described herein, each app state record mayspecify an app state of a native app. The information included in theapp state records may include one or more app access mechanisms (AAMs)that enable the user device(s) 102 to access the app states specified bythe records. The search system 100 transmits the AAMs included in theapp state records to the user device 102 as the search results, asdescribed herein. The information may also include app state information(ASI) (e.g., text) and other data (e.g., app state identifiers (IDs))associated with the app state records, which the search system 100 mayuse to identify the records in the search data store 112, as alsodescribed herein. As explained in greater detail below, to generate thesearch results, the search system 100 may identify one or more app staterecords included in the search data store 112 based on the search query.In some examples, the search system 100 further filters the identifiedapp state records based on the content information. In a specificexample, the search system 100 may select only those of the identifiedapp state records that specify any of the native app states that areaccessible by the user, as described herein. Alternatively, in otherexamples, the search system 100 may rank the identified app staterecords based on the content information. For example, the search system100 may generate a result score (e.g., a value between 0 and 1) for eachidentified app state record based on whether the record specifies any ofthe native app states accessible by the user, as also described herein.

The search system 100 then transmits the (e.g., filtered or ranked)search results, including one or more AAMs selected from the identifiedapp state records (and, e.g., the corresponding one or more resultscores), to the user device 102 that generated the search query. Theuser device 102 receives the search results, including the AAMs, fromthe search system 100 and displays the results to the user as one ormore user selectable links that include the AAMs. In implementationswhere the search results are not previously filtered or ranked based onthe content information as previously described, the user device 102 mayfilter or rank the results (e.g., the user selectable links) using thecontent information, in a similar manner as described above. In theseexamples, the user device 102 (e.g., the content determination system108) may determine the content information and display the searchresults based on the information by filtering or ranking the results(e.g., the user selectable links) as described above.

In some examples, the search system 100 transmits the search results,including the AAMs, to the user device 102 along with additional data.For example, the search system 100 may transmit link (e.g., text and/orimage) data that the user device 102 may use to generate the userselectable links for the AAMs included in the search results. Each userselectable link may include text and/or image(s) that the user mayselect (e.g., touch, or “click on”). Each user selectable link may alsobe associated with one or more of the AAMs, such that when the userselects the link, the user device 102 launches a native app referencedby the AAMs and causes the app to perform one or more operationsindicated by the AAMs. The text and/or image(s) of the user selectablelink may indicate the operations or function that the native appperforms in response to selection of the link. In other words, the textand/or image(s) may indicate an app state into which the native app isset upon performing the operations or function. For example, if the userselectable link is for a song in a native music player app, the textand/or image(s) may indicate that the user device 102 may launch the appand that the app may play the song when the user selects the link.Example user selectable links are shown in FIGS. 7B and 8B.

In other examples, the search system 100 may also transmit accessibility(e.g., text and/or image) data associated with one or more of the searchresults to the user device 102. The user device 102 may use theaccessibility data to generate one or more of the user selectable linksused to display the search results. For example, the accessibility dataincluded in a given user selectable link may indicate to the userwhether the app state specified by the link (e.g., by the correspondingsearch result) is accessible to the user. In other examples, the userdevice 102 may generate the accessibility data locally (e.g., byinteracting with one or more other resources). Example user selectablelinks that include accessibility data are shown in FIGS. 7B and 8B.

In this disclosure, an app may refer to computer software that causes acomputing device (e.g., one of the user device(s) 102) to perform atask. In some examples, an app is referred to as a “program.” Exampleapps include word processing apps, spreadsheet apps, messaging apps,media streaming apps, social networking apps, and games. Apps can beexecuted on a variety of different computing devices, including mobilecomputing devices, such as smart phones, tablets, and wearable computingdevices (e.g., headsets and/or smart watches). Apps can also be executedon other types of computing devices having other form factors, such aslaptop computers, desktop computers, or other consumer electronicdevices. In some examples, apps are installed on a computing deviceprior to a user purchasing the device. In other examples, the user maydownload and install apps on the computing device after purchasing thedevice. A native app, as used herein, may refer to an app that isinstalled and executed on a user device 102. In contrast, a web-basedapp may refer to an app that is accessible from a user device 102 via aweb browser app included on the user device 102.

An AAM, as used herein, may be a string of one or more characters thatreferences a native app and indicates one or more operations for a userdevice 102 (e.g., the app) to perform. If a user of the user device 102selects a user selectable link that includes the AAM, the user device102 may launch the native app referenced by the AAM and (e.g., cause theapp to) perform the operations indicated by the AAM. In other words, theuser selecting the user selectable link may cause the user device 102 tolaunch the native app and set the app into an app state (e.g., in whichthe app displays a GUI, or screen) that corresponds to the operations.As a result, the native app may be configured to display one or moreproducts, services, or vendors, to the user, e.g., via a display deviceof the user device 102. In this manner, the AAM may specify the appstate of the native app. The app state, in turn, may refer to theoperations indicated by the AAM and/or the outcome of the native appperforming the operations in response to the user selecting the userselectable link that includes the AAM on the user device 102.

An app state of a native app, as also used herein, may refer to one ormore graphical user interfaces (GUIs), or so-called “screens,” withinthe app. In general, an app state of this disclosure may refer to aconfiguration of a native app in which the app displays content to auser, such as information related to one or more products, services, orvendors provided by, or accessible via, the app. An app state may alsorefer to a function provided by a native app. For example, an app stateof native online shopping app may correspond to a screen of the app thatdescribes (e.g., using text and/or image data) a particular product orservice sold through the app (e.g., by one or more vendors associatedwith the app).

As described herein, the search system 100 uses data included in thesearch data store 112 to generate search results based on search queriesreceived from the user device(s) 102 and, e.g., based on contentinformation determined by the search system 100. The search data store112 may include one or more databases, indices (e.g., inverted indices),tables, files, or other data structures that may be used to implementthe techniques of the present disclosure. In some examples, the searchdata store 112 is included in one or more storage devices. The searchdata store 112 includes one or more app state records. Each app staterecord may include data related to a function of a native app and/or toan app state of the app resulting from the app performing the function.For example, each app state record may include, among other content, anapp state ID, ASI, and one or more AAMs. An app state ID of an app staterecord may uniquely identify the record among other app state recordsincluded in the search data store 112. ASI of an app state record maydescribe an app state into which an app is set according to one or moreAAMs included in the record. An AAM of an app state record may includedata (e.g., a text/number string) that causes a user device 102 tolaunch a native app and perform a function associated with the app.Example app state records are shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

As described herein, the search system 100 receives the search queryfrom the user device 102 and generates the search results based on thesearch query and, e.g., based on the content information. The searchquery may include text, numbers, and/or symbols (e.g., punctuation)entered into the user device 102 by the user. For example, the user mayhave entered the search query into a search field, or “box,” of a searchapp included on the user device 102. The user may have entered thesearch query using a touchscreen keypad, a mechanical keypad, and/or viaspeech recognition techniques and transmitted the search query to thesearch system 100 using the search app. In some examples, the userdevice 102 (e.g., the search app) also determines the contentinformation and transmit the information to the search system 100, asdescribed herein. For example, the user device 102 (e.g., the searchapp) may transmit the content information to the search system 100 alongwith the search query (e.g., as part of a query wrapper). In someexamples, the search app is a native app dedicated to search, or a moregeneral app, such as a web browser app. In other examples, the searchsystem 100 may determine the content information (e.g., using datareceived from the user device 102 and/or independently of the userdevice 102), as also described herein. The content information mayinclude any of text, numbers, and/or symbols (e.g., punctuation), aswell as any machine-readable (e.g., binary) data used to represent thenative app states that are accessible to the user.

In some examples, the user device 102 transmits additional data to thesearch system 100 along with the search query and, e.g., the contentinformation. The search query and any additional data may be referred toherein as a query wrapper. The additional data may include geo-locationdata associated with the user device 102, platform data for the userdevice 102 (e.g., a type and/or a version of the user device 102, anoperating system (OS), and/or a web browser app of the user device 102),an identity of the user (e.g., a username), partner specific data,and/or other data. The user device 102 may transmit the query wrapper tothe search system 100. The search system 100 may receive the querywrapper and use the search query and, e.g., the additional data, togenerate the search results in the manner described herein.

The user device(s) 102 may be any computing devices capable of providingsearch queries and, e.g., content information, to the search system 100(and, e.g., the content determination system 108) and receiving searchresults from the search system 100. The user device(s) 102 may includeany of smartphones, and tablet, laptop, or desktop computers. The userdevice(s) 102 may also include any computing devices having other formfactors, e.g., computing devices included in vehicles, gaming devices,televisions, or other appliances (e.g., networked home automationdevices and home appliances). The user device(s) 102 may use a varietyof different operating systems or platforms (e.g., an OS 124 shown inFIG. 2). In an example where a user device 102 is a mobile device, theuser device 102 may operate using an OS, such as ANDROID® by Google,Inc., IOS® by Apple, Inc., or WINDOWS PHONE® by Microsoft Corporation.In an example where the user device 102 is a laptop or desktop computingdevice, the user device 102 may use an OS, such as MICROSOFT WINDOWS® byMicrosoft Corporation, MAC OS® by Apple, Inc., or LINUX® (LINUX® is theregistered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries).The user device(s) 102 may interact with any of the systems 100, 108using operating systems other than those described herein, whetherpresently available or developed in the future.

The user device(s) 102 can communicate with the search system 100 (and,e.g., the content determination system 108) via the network 106. Ingeneral, the user device(s) 102 may communicate with any of the systems100, 108 using any app that can transmit search queries and, e.g.,content information, to one or more of the systems 100, 108, and receivesearch results from the search system 100. In some examples, the userdevice(s) 102 includes an app that is dedicated to interfacing with oneor more of the systems 100, 108, such as an app dedicated to searches(e.g., a search app). In other examples, the user device(s) 102 maycommunicate with any of the systems 100, 108 using a more general app,such as a web browser app. In any case, an app included on a user device102 to communicate with one or more of the systems 100, 108 may includea GUI with a search field, or box, into which a user may enter searchqueries. For example, the user may enter the search queries using atouchscreen, a physical keyboard, a speech-to-text program, or anotherform of user input available on the user device 102. The app may beconfigured to transmit the search queries to the search system 100(e.g., in response to user inputs). The app may also be configured todetermine (e.g., via a content identification (ID) module) native appstates that are accessible by the user, as described herein. The app maybe further configured to transmit indications of this contentinformation to one or more of the systems 100, 108 (e.g., with orwithout the search queries), as also described herein.

In some examples, the user device 102 uses the same (e.g., dedicated ormore general) app to display the search results received from the searchsystem 100 to the user. For example, the user device 102 may display thesearch results via the GUI used to receive the search queries from theuser and transmit the search queries to one or more of the systems 100,108, as described herein. The GUI may display the search results to theuser in a variety of different ways, depending on the informationtransmitted by the search system 100 to the user device 102 as part ofthe search results. As previously described, the search results mayinclude one or more AAMs along with result scores, link data, and/orother information (e.g. accessibility data) used to generate userselectable links for the AAMs. The GUI may display the search results tothe user as a list of the user selectable links, including text and/orimages. For instance, the text and/or images may include names of nativeapps referenced by the AAMs, descriptions of the AAMs and/or operationsindicated therein (e.g., descriptions of the app states specified by theAAMs), and images associated with the apps or the app states specifiedby the AAMs (e.g., app, or app state, icons or “screens”). Additionally,for some or all of the user selectable links, the text and/or images mayalso indicate whether the user is able to access the corresponding appstate(s), as described herein. In additional examples, the GUI maydisplay the search results as the list of the user selectable linksarranged under a search field, or box, into which the user entered asearch query. For example, the GUI may arrange the user selectable linksby result scores associated with the links, i.e., with the AAMs forwhich the links are generated, or using other logic. In still otherexamples, the GUI may also group the user selectable links by theassociated native apps (e.g., using app headers).

The data source(s) 104 may be sources of data that the search system 100may use to generate and/or update the search data store 112. Forexample, the search system 100 may use the data source(s) 104 togenerate and/or update one or more databases, indices, tables, files, orother data structures (e.g., app state records) included in the searchdata store 112. As an example, the search system 100 may generate newapp state records and/or update existing app state records based on dataretrieved from the data source(s) 104. For instance, the search system100 may include modules that generate new app state records and/orupdate existing app state records based on the data. In some examples,some or all of the data included in the search data store 112 (e.g., oneor more app state records) is manually generated by a human operator.

The data source(s) 104 may include a variety of different dataproviders. For example, the data source(s) 104 may include data from appdevelopers, such as app developer websites and data feeds provided byapp developers. The data source(s) 104 may also include operators ofdigital distribution platforms configured to distribute apps to userdevices. The data source(s) 104 may further include other websites, suchas websites that include web logs (i.e., blogs), app reviews, or otherdata related to apps. Additionally, the data source(s) 104 may includesocial networking sites, such as “FACEBOOK®” by Facebook, Inc. (e.g.,Facebook posts) and “TWITTER®” by Twitter, Inc. (e.g., text fromtweets). The data source(s) 104 may also include online databases thatinclude data related to movies, television programs, music, andrestaurants. The data source(s) 104 may further include other types ofdata sources, which may have various types of content and update rates.In some examples, the search system 100 retrieves data from the datasource(s) 104, including any type of data related to app functionalityand/or app states. The search system 100 may then generate one or moreapp state records based on the data and store the records in the searchdata store 112. In other examples, some or all of the data (e.g., ASI)included in the app state records of the search data store 112 may bemanually generated by a human operator. Additionally, in some examples,the data included in the app state records is updated over time so thatthe search system 100 provides up-to-date search results in response touser-specified search queries received from the user device(s) 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of one of the user device(s) 102 incommunication with the search system 100 and the content determinationsystem 108. Specifically, FIG. 2 depicts example interactions and dataexchanged among the user device 102, the search system 100, and thecontent determination system 108. As shown in FIG. 2, the user device102 may transmit a query wrapper to the search system 100. The querywrapper may include a search query (e.g., a text string, such as “batmanmovie”) 134 specified by a user of the user device 102. As describedherein, the user may have entered the search query 134 into a searchfield 135 of a GUI of a search app 128 included on the user device 102.As explained herein, the search app 128 may be a native app (e.g., anyof one or more native apps 130), or a web-based app (e.g., accessiblevia a web browser app 126) included on the user device 102. The user mayhave then submitted the search query 134 to the search system 100 (i.e.,as part of the query wrapper) by selecting a search button 137 of theGUI. As further shown, the query wrapper may include additionalinformation, such as any of geo-location data, platform data, and otherdata (e.g., an IP address) associated with the user, the user device102, and/or the search query 134.

In the example of FIG. 2, the query wrapper may also include contentinformation 136 indicating one or more app states of one or more nativeapps that are accessible by the user, as described herein. For example,the user device 102 (e.g. the search app 128) may have determined thenative app states using a content ID module 132 also included on theuser device 102 (e.g., as part of the search app 128). As one example,the content ID module 132 may have determined one or more of the appstates by detecting the user obtaining access to the states in thecorresponding one or more native apps (e.g., in any of the native app(s)130, or in other native apps previously installed on the user device102). As another example, the content ID module 132 may have determinedone or more of the app states by directly accessing the correspondingone or more native apps (e.g., any of the native app(s) 130 usingassociated user login credentials). As still another example, thecontent ID module 132 may have determined one or more of the app statesby accessing a memory location on the user device 102 and/or a datastore (e.g., a content registry). As yet another example, the content IDmodule 132 may have determined one or more of the app states by querying(e.g., via the content determination system 108) one or more APIs (e.g.,any of the API(s) 120-1 . . . 120-N) associated with the correspondingone or more native apps (e.g., using associated user login credentials).For example, the content ID module 132 may have determined the APIsassociated with the native apps and, e.g., corresponding user logincredentials, based on received information that indicates APIsassociated with native apps for which the user has obtained useraccounts (e.g., having user login credentials) and/or for which no useraccount is required. In some examples, the content ID module 132determines the native app states prior to, during (e.g., in responseto), or following the user entering and/or submitting the search query134 using the search app 128.

In other examples, rather than receiving the content information 136from the user device 102, the search system 100 (e.g., the contentdetermination system 108) may determine the app states of the nativeapps that are accessible by the user. As one example, the search system100 may retrieve the content information 136 from a data store (e.g., acontent registry). For example, the user device 102 may have previouslygenerated the content information 136 as described above and transmittedthe information 136 to the data store. As another example, the searchsystem 100 may determine one or more of the app states by querying oneor more APIs (e.g., any of the API(s) 120-1 . . . 120-N) associated withthe corresponding one or more native apps (e.g., using associated userlogin credentials). For instance, the search system 100 may determinethe APIs associated with the native apps and, e.g., corresponding userlogin credentials, using data indicating APIs associated with nativeapps for which the user has obtained user accounts (e.g., user logincredentials) and/or for which no user account is required. The searchsystem 100 may receive this data from the user device 102 and/or anotherlocation.

In any case, upon receiving the query wrapper from the user device 102,the search system 100 (e.g., in conjunction with the contentdetermination system 108) may generate one or more search results 138based on the search query 134 and based on the content information 136.As described herein, to generate the search results 138, the searchsystem 100 may identify one or more app state records included in thesearch data store 112 based on the search query 134, and then filter orrank the identified records using the content information 136. As alsodescribed herein, the search system 100 may further generate resultsscores for the identified app state records (e.g., as part of rankingthe records using the content information 136). The search system 100may then transmit the search results 138 to the user device 102. Asshown in FIG. 2, the search results 138 may include one or more AAMsselected from the filtered or ranked app state records, as well as oneor more result scores, link data, and/or other information (e.g.,accessibility data) associated with the AAMs (e.g., the records).

In the example of FIG. 2, upon receiving the search results 138 from thesearch system 100, the user device 102 may display the results 138 tothe user as one or more user selectable links. For example, the userdevice 102 may generate the user selectable links such that each link isassociated with (e.g., includes) one or more of the AAMs included in thesearch results 138. As described herein, each AAM included in the searchresults 138 may specify an app state of a native app. As a result, whenthe user selects (e.g., touches, or clicks on) each user selectablelink, the user device 102 may launch the corresponding native app andset the app into an app state specified by the AAM. In these examples,the user device 102 may generate the user selectable links using thelink data also included in the search results 138. For example, the linkdata may include any of text (e.g., describing a name of a native appand/or an app state) and image data (e.g., an icon for the app, or appstate). In this manner, the link data included in (e.g., used togenerate) each user selectable link may describe the native app and/orapp state associated with the link. The user device 102 may alsogenerate one or more of the user selectable links to include theaccessibility data also received as part of the search results 138. Asdescribed herein, the accessibility data included in each userselectable link may indicate to the user whether the app state specifiedby the link (e.g., by the corresponding one of the search results 138)is accessible to the user in the corresponding native app (e.g., asindicated by the content information 136). The user device 102 mayfurther arrange (e.g., order, or rank) the user selectable links as partof displaying the links to the user based on the result scores alsoincluded in the search results 138. For example, the user device 102 mayassign each user selectable link the result score associated with theapp state record from which the AAM included in the link was selected.The user device 102 may then order the user selectable links based onthe result scores (e.g., display higher-ranking links relatively higherwithin a list of user selectable links than lower-ranking links).Example search results 138 displayed on a user device 102 as userselectable links are described below with reference to FIGS. 7A-8C.

FIG. 3A illustrates an example of the search system 100 and the contentdetermination system 108. As described herein, the search system 100generates search results 138 using a search query 134 received from oneof the user device(s) 102, data (e.g., app state records) included inthe search data store 112, and, in some examples, content information136 determined by the search system 100. Specifically, the search module110 identifies one or more app state records included in the search datastore 112 based on the search query 134 and, e.g., based on the contentinformation 136. The search module 110 further ranks the identified appstate records, e.g., also based on the content information 136. In someexamples, the search module 110 identifies and/or ranks the app staterecords based on the content information 136 using the contentdetermination system 108, as described below. The search module 110 thentransmits one or more app state IDs 140 that identify the app staterecords to the search result generation module 114. The search resultgeneration module 114 receives the app state IDs 140 from the searchmodule 110, identifies the app state records in the search data store112 using the IDs 140, and selects one or more AAMs from the records.The search result generation module 114 then transmits the AAMs to theuser device 102 as the search results 138 (e.g., along with resultscores, link data, and/or accessibility data).

As shown in FIG. 3A, in examples where the search system 100 generatesthe search results 138 based on the content information 136, the searchmodule 110 may receive the information 136 from the user device 102 andidentify or rank the app state records in the manner described hereinusing the information 136. In some examples, however, the contentdetermination module 116 and/or content data store 118 performs some orall of the functions associated with the search system 100 determiningthe content information 136 and identifying or ranking the app staterecords using the information 136. For example, as also shown, thecontent determination module 116 may determine the content information136 (e.g., by accessing a data store and/or querying APIs, for exampleusing user login credentials, as described herein) and transmit theinformation 136 to the search module 110. In some examples, the contentdetermination module 116 determines the content information 136 usingdata included in the content data store 118 and/or store the information136 in the data store 118. In any case, the search module 110 mayreceive the content information 136 from the content determinationmodule 116 and identify or rank the app state records using theinformation 136.

In some examples, the search module 110 identifies the app state recordsusing the content information 136 by determining that each recordincludes ASI that describes one of the native app states indicated bythe information 136. In other examples, the search module 110 mayidentify the app state records by determining that each record includesan app state ID and/or an AAM that describes (e.g., references by name)one of the native app states. In the examples described above, thesearch module 110 may identify the app state records based on one ormore (e.g., text) matches between the content information 136 andinformation (e.g., one or more app state IDs, ASI, and/or AAMs) includedin the identified records.

FIG. 3B illustrates an example of the search module 110, the search datastore 112, the content determination module 116, and the content datastore 118. The search module 110 of FIG. 3B includes a query analysismodule 142, a consideration set generation module (hereinafter, “setgeneration module”) 144, and a consideration set processing module(hereinafter, “set processing module”) 146. The query analysis module142 receives a search query 134 from one of the user device(s) 102(e.g., as part of a query wrapper) and analyzes the query 134 (e.g.,performs any of tokenization, filtering, stemming, synonymization, andstop word removal with respect to the query 134). The set generationmodule 144 identifies one or more app state records included in thesearch data store 112 based on the (e.g., analyzed) search query 134and, e.g., based on content information 136, as described herein. Asshown in FIG. 3B, the set generation module 144 may receive the contentinformation 136 from the user device 102 or from the contentdetermination system 108. As an example, the set generation module 144may identify the app state records using the search query 134 and, e.g.,the content information 136, as inputs to Lucene® information retrievalsoftware developed by the Apache Software Foundation. For example, theset generation module 144 may identify the app state records based onone or more (e.g., text) matches between one or more terms of the searchquery 134 and one or more terms of information (e.g., app state IDsand/or ASI) included in the records. In some examples, the setgeneration module 144 further identifies the app state records based onone or more matches between the content information 136 (e.g., anindication of one or more native app states that are accessible by auser) and information (e.g., app state IDs, ASI, and/or AAMs) indicatedin, or associated with, the records, as also described herein. Theidentified app state records may be referred to herein as a“consideration set.” The set processing module 146 may process (e.g.,score and select a subset of) the consideration set (e.g., generateresult scores for the identified app state records based on the contentinformation 136 and select a subset of the records based on the scores).The set processing module 146 may then generate one or more app stateIDs that identify some or all of the (e.g., scored) app state records,and transmit the IDs to the search result generation module 114, asdescribed above.

The information conveyed by the search results 138 may depend on themanner in which the set processing module 146 generates the resultscores for the app state records. For example, for each app staterecord, the corresponding result score may indicate relevance of the appstate or function specified by the record to the search query 134,popularity of the app state or function, or other properties of the appstate or function, depending on the one or more parameters the setprocessing module 146 uses to score the app state records. The setprocessing module 146 may generate the result scores for the app staterecords in a variety of different ways. In some examples, the setprocessing module 146 generates a result score for an app state recordbased on one or more scoring features. The scoring features may beassociated with the app state record and/or the search query 134. An appstate record scoring feature (hereinafter, “record scoring feature”) maybe based on any data associated with an app state record. For example, arecord scoring feature may be based on any data included in ASI of anapp state record. Example record scoring features may be a quality scoreand whether the app state record includes an AAM that specifies adefault app state (e.g., a main page of a native app) or a deeper appstate. A query scoring feature may include any data associated with thesearch query 134. For example, a query scoring feature may include anumber of words in the search query 134, popularity of the query 134,and an expected frequency of the words in the query 134. A record-queryscoring feature may include any data generated based on data associatedwith both an app state record and the search query 134 that resulted inidentification of the record by the set generation module 144. Forexample, record-query scoring features may include parameters thatindicate how well terms of the search query 134 match terms of ASI ofthe identified app state record. In some examples, as described herein,the set processing module 146 generates a result score for an app staterecord based on the content information 136. In these examples, acontent scoring feature may include any data associated with the contentinformation 136 (e.g., an indication of one or more native app statesthat are accessible by a user). For instance, the set processing module146 may generate a result score for an app state record based on whetherthe record specifies any of the native app states indicated by thecontent information 136 (e.g., based on whether the app state specifiedby the record is accessible by the user within the corresponding nativeapp). According to the disclosed techniques, the set processing module146 may generate a result score for an app state record based on atleast one of the record, query, record-query, content, and/or additionalscoring features not explicitly listed.

In some examples, the set processing module 146 includes one or moremachine-learned models (e.g., a supervised learning model) configured toreceive one or more scoring features. The machine-learned models maygenerate one or more result scores based on at least one of the record,query, record-query, and content scoring features described above. Forexample, the set processing module 146 may pair the search query 134with each app state record and calculate a vector of features for each(query, record) pair. The vector of features may include one or morerecord, query, record-query, and content scoring features. The setprocessing module 146 may then input the vector of features into amachine-learned regression model to calculate a result score for the appstate record. In some examples, the machine-learned regression modelincludes a set of decision trees (e.g., gradient-boosted decisiontrees). In other examples, the machine-learned model may be trained by asimple form of logistic regression. In still other examples, themachine-learned task described above can be framed as a semi-supervisedlearning task, where a minority of the training data is labeled withhuman curated result scores and the rest of the data is used withoutsuch labels.

As described herein, the result scores associated with the app staterecords (e.g., the AAMs included therein) may be used in a variety ofdifferent ways. In some examples, the result scores are used to rank(e.g., order) the AAMs within a list. In these examples, a higher resultscore may indicate that the corresponding AAM (e.g., app state) is morerelevant to the user than an AAM having a smaller result score. Inexamples where the search results 138 are displayed as a list of userselectable links on the user device 102, the links including AAMsassociated with larger result scores may be listed closer to the top ofthe list (e.g., near to the top of the screen). In these examples, linksincluding AAMs having lower result scores may be located farther downthe list (e.g., off screen) and may be accessed by scrolling down thescreen of the user device 102. In some examples, as shown in FIGS. 7Band 8B described below, the user device 102 groups user selectable linksassociated with the same native app.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example of one of the user device(s) 102 incommunication with the search system 100 and the content determinationsystem 108. The example of FIG. 4 includes some of the featuresdescribed above with reference to FIG. 2. In the example of FIG. 4, theuser device 102 may transmit a query wrapper including a search query134 and additional information (e.g., geo-location, platform, and/or IPaddress data) to the search system 100, in a similar manner as describedabove. Upon receiving the query wrapper from the user device 102, thesearch system 100 may generate one or more search results 138 based onthe search query 134. As described herein, the search system 100 mayidentify one or more app state records included in the search data store112 based on the search query 134. As also described herein, the searchsystem 100 may further generate results scores for (e.g., rank) theidentified app state records. The search system 100 may then transmitthe search results 138 to the user device 102. As shown in FIG. 4, thesearch results 138 may include one or more AAMs selected from theidentified (e.g., ranked) app state records, one or more result scores,link data, and/or other data.

In this example, the user device 102 may determine (e.g., generate)content information 136 indicating one or more app states of one or morenative apps that are accessible by a user of the device 102, in asimilar manner as described above with reference to FIG. 2. Uponreceiving the search results 138 from the search system 100, the userdevice 102 may display the results 138 to the user based on the contentinformation 136. For example, the user device 102 may generate one ormore user selectable links that include the AAMs, link data, and, e.g.,accessibility data, included in the search results 138. The user device102 may further filter or rank the search results 138 (e.g., the userselectable links) using the content information 136, as describedherein. The user device 102 may also arrange (e.g., further rank) the(e.g., filtered, or ranked) user selectable links as part of displayingthe links to the user based on the result scores also included in thesearch results 138. For example, the user device 102 may displayhigher-ranking links relatively higher within a list than lower-rankinglinks.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate example app state records that may beincluded in the search data store 112. FIG. 5A illustrates a generalexample of an app state record 148. The app state record 148 of FIG. 5Aincludes information related to (e.g., specifying) an app state of anative app. As shown in FIG. 5A, the app state record 148 includes anapp state ID 150 that uniquely identifies the record 148 among other appstate records included in the search data store 112. As also shown, theapp state record 148 includes ASI 152 (e.g., text) that describes theapp state specified by the record 148, and which may be used to identifythe record 148 within the search data store 112. As further shown, theapp state record 148 includes one or more AAMs 154 that enable a userdevice 102 to access the app state specified by the record 148 withinthe native app. For example, each of the AAM(s) 154 may reference thenative app and indicate one or more operations for the app (e.g., theuser device 102) to perform, as described herein. The native appperforming the operations may set the app into the app state, as alsodescribed herein. In some examples (not shown), the app state record 148further includes an indication that the app state specified by therecord 148 is accessible to all users by virtue of launching the nativeapp (e.g., without the users first creating a user account for the app),as further described herein.

In other examples (also not shown), the app state record 148 may furtherinclude one or more of an application download address (ADA) and a webaccess mechanism (WAM). The ADA and/or WAM may be selected along withthe AAM(s) 154 from the app state record 148 and transmitted to a userdevice 102 as part of search results 138, as described herein. The ADAmay specify a location (e.g., a digital distribution platform, such asthe Play Store® by Google Inc.) where a user device 102 may download thenative app referenced by the AAM(s) 154. In response to a user selectinga user selectable link that includes the ADA on a user device 102, theuser device 102 may download the native app using the ADA and installthe app. The user device 102 may further launch the native app and setthe app into the app state specified by the AAM(s) 154 also included inthe user selectable link. The WAM, in turn, may specify an app state ofa web-based app that is equivalent (e.g., analogous) to the app statespecified by the AAM(s) 154. In response to a user selecting a userselectable link that includes the WAM on a user device 102, the userdevice 102 may launch a web browser app 126 included on the user device102 and access the equivalent app state of the web-based app using theWAM. For example, the WAM may include a resource identifier thatreferences a web resource (e.g., a page of the web-based app, orwebsite). For instance, the WAM may include a uniform resource locator(URL) (i.e., a web address) used with the hypertext transfer protocol(HTTP). Upon the user selecting the user selectable link including theWAM, the user device 102 may launch the web browser app 126 and retrievethe web resource referenced by the resource identifier (e.g., access theapp state, or page, of the web-based app, or website, specified by theWAM).

In additional examples, the app state record 148 of FIG. 5A may alsoinclude information that describes values of one or more metricsassociated with a person, place, or thing described in the record 148.Example metrics include the popularity of a place described in the appstate record 148 and/or ratings (e.g., user ratings) of the place. Forexample, if the app state record 148 describes a song, a metricassociated with the song may be based on the popularity of the songand/or ratings (e.g., user ratings) of the song. The informationincluded in the app state record 148 may also be based on measurementsassociated with the record 148, such as how often the record 148 isretrieved during a search and how often user selectable links for any ofthe AAM(s) 154 of the record 148 are selected by a user. The informationmay also indicate whether the app state record 148 includes an AAM(e.g., one of the AAM(s) 154) for a default app state, or a deeper appstate, of the native app. In some examples, the search system 100 (e.g.,the set processing module 146) uses this information to generate aresult score for the app state record 148 (e.g., upon identifying therecord 148 based on a search query 134 and as part of ranking the record148 among other identified app state records), as described herein.

FIG. 5B illustrates a specific example of an app state record 158 thatspecifies an app state of the native app “Netflix®” by Netflix, Inc.(hereinafter, “Netflix”). The app state specified by the app staterecord 158 of FIG. 5B corresponds to an entry in Netflix for the movie“Batman Returns.” As shown in FIG. 5B, the app state record 158 includesan app state ID “Netflix—Batman Returns” 160 that uniquely identifiesthe record 158 among other app state records included in the search datastore 112. In other examples, the app state ID 160 may be a numericvalue or have another (e.g., machine-readable) representation. Asfurther shown, the app state record 158 includes ASI 162 that describesthe app state specified by the record 158. As shown, the ASI 162includes a description of the movie “Batman Returns,” cast andproduction information, user reviews/ratings, and/or any otherinformation (e.g., additional data fields) related to the movie or tothe app state specified by the app state record 158. In some examples,the ASI 162 also describes one or more functions provided by the appstate, such as, e.g., “check show times,” “buy tickets,” “read userreviews,” and “write a user review.” As also shown, the app state record158 further includes one or more AAMs 164 that enable a user device 102to access the app state specified by the record 158 in Netflix. The appstate record 158 may also optionally include one or more ADAs and/orWAMs, as described above.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate example data structures that may be used tostore content information 136 according to the present disclosure. FIG.6A illustrates a general example of such a data structure 166. The datastructure 166 of FIG. 6A includes information indicating one or morenative app states that are accessible by a user (e.g., of a user device102). For example, the data structure 166 may represent this informationusing any combination of alphabetic, numeric, and other (e.g.,machine-readable) representations. As show in FIG. 6A, the datastructure 166 includes a user name/ID 168 that uniquely identifies thestructure 166 and the corresponding user among other similar datastructures and associated users (e.g., all of which may be stored in acommon data store). As also shown, the data structure 166 furtherincludes one or more app names/IDs 170-1 . . . 170-N (collectively, “appname(s)/ID(s) 170) (where “N” is a positive integer value greater orequal to 1) that each specify a native app that includes one or more appstates that are accessible by the user. As further shown, the datastructure 166 also includes, for each of the app name(s)/ID(s) 170, oneor more of app state names/IDs 172-1 . . . 172-M and 174-1 . . . 174-L(collectively, “app state name(s)/ID(s) 172, 174) (where “M” and “L” areeach a positive integer value greater or equal to 1) that each specifyone of the app states. As such, the data structure 166 represents acontent registry indicating one or more app states of one or more nativeapps that are each accessible by the user. As explained herein, the usermay have access to the app states by virtue of the user creating a useraccount for any of the native apps, purchasing or otherwise acquiringaccess to any of the states, and/or accessing any of the states withoutfirst creating a user account. The data structure 166 and variouscontents thereof (e.g., the app name(s)/ID(s) 170 and/or app statename(s)/ID(s) 172, 174) may be generated and/or updated by detecting theuser obtaining access to one or more of the app states in one or more ofthe native apps, accessing one or more of the apps on a user device 102,accessing another location in or outside of the device 102, and/orquerying one or more APIs associated with one or more of the apps, asdescribed herein.

FIG. 6B illustrates a specific example of the data structure 166described above. The data structure 176 of FIG. 6B includes a username/ID “User 1” 178 that uniquely identifies the structure 176 and thecorresponding user among any other analogous data structures andassociated users. The data structure 176 further includes app names/IDs“Amazon Instant Video” 180-1, “Netflix” 180-2, and “Vudu” 180-3 thateach specify a native app (i.e., one of “Amazon Instant Video,”“Netflix,” and “Vudu”) that includes one or more app states that areaccessible to the user. The data structure 176 also includes, for eachof the app names/IDs 180-1, 180-2, and 180-3, the corresponding ones ofapp state names/IDs 182-1, 182-2, 182-3, 184-1, and 186-1 that eachspecify one of the app states. As shown in FIG. 6B, the app name/ID180-1 specifying “Amazon Instant Video” is associated with app statenames/IDs 182-1, 182-2, and 182-3 specifying app states of “AmazonInstant Video” corresponding to the movie “Batman,” a soundtrack for themovie, and an electronic book (e-book) associated with the movie. Asfurther shown, the app name/ID 180-2 specifying “Netflix” is associatedwith one or more app state names/IDs 184 specifying one or more (e.g.,hundreds of) app states of “Netflix” corresponding to various titles(e.g., movies and television show episodes). Similarly, as also shown,the app name/ID 180-3 specifying “Vudu” is associated with one or moreapp state names/IDs 186 specifying one or more app states of “Vudu”corresponding to various video titles.

FIGS. 7A-8C illustrate example GUIs that may be generated on a userdevice 102 according to the present disclosure. Specifically, theexamples of FIGS. 7A-8C depict a user device 102 performing a search forapp states of native apps based on a search query 134 specified by auser of the user device 102 and content information 136 associated withthe user. As shown in FIG. 7A, the user enters a search query “batmanmovie” 134 into (e.g., a search field 135 of) a GUI of a search app 128executing on the user device 102. As also shown, the user furtherinteracts with (e.g., a search button 137 of) the GUI to cause thesearch app 128 to transmit the search query 134 to a search system 100.In some examples, the user device 102 (e.g., the search app 128) alsotransmits content information 136 indicating native app states that areaccessible by the user to the search system 100 (e.g., along with thesearch query 134). In other examples, the search system 100 maydetermine the content information 136. In the above-described examples,the content information 136 may indicate an app state corresponding toan entry in the native app “Amazon Instant Video®” by Amazon, Inc.(hereinafter, “Amazon Instant Video) for the movie “Batman.” In thisexample, the user may have initially created a user account withcorresponding user login credentials for Amazon Instant Video for a fee.The user may have then purchased access to the app state (e.g., paid tohave the movie “Batman” added to the user's Amazon Instant Video libraryfor unlimited playback). The content information 136 may furtherindicate an app state corresponding to an entry in Netflix for the movie“Batman Returns.” In this example, the user may have created a useraccount with corresponding user login credentials for Netflix for a fee.As a result, the user may have obtained access to (e.g., unlimitedplayback for) all app states in Netflix, including the app state, byvirtue of creating the user account. The content information 136 mayalso indicate an app state corresponding to an entry in the native app“Hulu®” by Hulu, Inc. (hereinafter, “Hulu”) for the movie “The DarkKnight.” In this example, the user may have obtained access to all appstates in Hulu, including the app state, without first creating a useraccount for Hulu.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the user device 102 receives search results 138from the search system 100 in response to transmitting the search query134 and, e.g., the content information 136, to the search system 100 anddisplays the search results 138 to the user as user selectable links190-1 . . . 190-3 (collectively, the “links 190”). In the example ofFIG. 7B, the search results 138 are responsive to the search query 134(i.e., the text string “batman movie”) and specify app states of AmazonInstant Video, Netflix, and Hulu that are accessible to the user. Inother words, the app state specified by each search result 138 (e.g., byan AAM included therein) is accessible by the user in one of thesenative apps, e.g., using the associated user account (the correspondinguser login credentials). In this example, the search system 100 may havegenerated each search result 138 by determining that the correspondingapp state record 148 specifies one of the app states of, or entries in,Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, and Hulu indicated by the contentinformation 136. As shown in FIG. 7B, the user device 102 may arrangethe links 190 using app headers 188-1 . . . 188-3 (collectively, the“headers 188”) that indicate the corresponding native apps. As furthershown, the user device 102 may also order the links 190 based onrelevance of the corresponding ones of the search results 138 to thesearch query 134. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7B, the user selectablelink 190-1 (e.g., the corresponding search result 138) referencing themovie “Batman” may be more relevant to the search query “batman movie”134 than the user selectable links 190-2 and 190-3 referencing themovies “Batman Returns” and “The Dark Knight,” respectively. As alsoshown, the user device 102 may display the links 190 such that one ormore of the links 190 each indicate to the user (e.g., via any of GUIelements 192, 194, and 196) that the corresponding app state of AmazonInstant Video, Netflix, or Hulu is accessible by the user. For example,the user device 102 may generate each such link 190 using accessibilitydata also received from the search system 100 as part of the searchresults 138.

As further shown in FIG. 7B, the user may select (e.g., touch, or clickon) one of the links 190 on the user device 102, namely the link 190-1specifying the entry in Amazon Instant Video for the movie “Batman.” Asshown in FIG. 7C, upon the user selecting the user selectable link190-1, the user device 102 may launch Amazon Instant Video and setAmazon Instant Video into the app state specified by the link 190-1(e.g., by an AAM included therein). In particular, the user device 102may configure Amazon Instant Video to display a GUI 198 for the entry inAmazon Instant Video for the movie “Batman.” Upon the user device 102setting Amazon Instant Video into the app state (e.g., the entry), theuser may interact with the state (e.g., cause Amazon Instant Video toplay the movie “Batman” on the user device 102).

FIG. 8A is analogous to FIG. 7A described above. In the example of FIGS.8A-8C, the content information 136 may once again indicate app statescorresponding to entries in Amazon Instant Video and Netflix for themovies “Batman” and “Batman Returns.” FIG. 8B shows search results 138received by the user device 102 from the search system 100 in responseto transmitting the search query 134 and, e.g., the content information136, to the search system 100. As shown in FIG. 8B, the user device 102displays the search results 138 to the user as user selectable links190-1, 190-2, and 190-4 (collectively, the “links 190”). In thisexample, the search results 138 are responsive to the search query 134and specify app states of Amazon Instant Video and Netflix that areaccessible by the user, in a similar manner as described above withreference to FIG. 7B. As also shown, the search results 138 furtherspecify an app state corresponding to an entry in the native app “HuluPlus®” by Hulu, Inc. (hereinafter, “Hulu Plus”) for the movie “Batman.”In this example, the user may not have access to the app statecorresponding to the entry in Hulu Plus for the movie “Batman.” Forexample, the user may not have created a user account (e.g., withcorresponding user login credentials) required by Hulu Plus to accessapp states of Hulu Plus. Additionally, or alternatively, the user maynot have obtained (e.g., purchased, or otherwise acquired) access to theapp state (e.g., paid to have the movie “Batman” added to the user'sHulu Plus library for unlimited playback).

In the example of FIGS. 8A-8C, each search result 138 may be associatedwith a result score generated by the search system 100 based on whetherthe corresponding app state record 148 specifies any of the app statesof, or entries in, Amazon Instant Video and Netflix indicated by thecontent information 136. As shown in FIG. 8B, the user device 102 maydisplay the links 190 generated for the search results 138 by ranking(e.g., ordering) each link 190 based on the corresponding result score.For example, as shown, the user device 102 may display the userselectable link 190-1 specifying the entry for the movie “Batman” inAmazon Instant Video, which is accessible by the user, higher within alist than the user selectable link 190-4, which specifies the entry forthe same movie in Hulu Plus that is not accessible by the user. As alsoshown, the user device 102 may display the links 190 such that one ormore of the links 190 each indicate to the user (e.g., via any of GUIelements 192 and 194) whether the corresponding app state of AmazonInstant Video, Netflix, or Hulu Plus is accessible to the user. Forexample, the user device 102 may generate each such link 190 usingaccessibility data received from the search system 100 along with thesearch results 138, as described above. As further shown, in someexamples, the user device 102 also arranges the links 190 using appheaders 188-1, 188-2, and 188-4 and/or order the links 190 based onrelevance of the corresponding ones of the search results 138 to thesearch query 134, in a similar manner as described above.

As shown in FIG. 8B, the user may select the user selectable link 190-2specifying the entry in Netflix for the movie “Batman Returns,” which isaccessible to the user (e.g., as part of the user's Netflixsubscription, or user account). As shown in FIG. 8C, upon the userselecting the user selectable link 190-2, the user device 102 may launchNetflix and set Netflix into the app state specified by the link 190-2(e.g., cause Netflix to display a GUI 200 for the “Batman Returns”entry). Upon the user device 102 setting Netflix into the app state, theuser may interact with the state (e.g., cause Netflix to play the movie“Batman Returns”).

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flow diagrams that illustrate example methods forgenerating app state search results 138 at a search system 100 based ona search query 134 received from a user device 102 and based on contentinformation 136 determined by the search system 100. FIG. 9A illustratesan example method 900A for generating the search results 138 byfiltering one or more app state records 148 identified using the searchquery 134 based on the content information 136. FIG. 9B, in turn,illustrates an example method 900B for generating the search results 138by ranking the app state record(s) 148 based on the content information136.

With reference to FIG. 9A, in block 902A, the search system 100 mayinitially receive a search query 134 specified by a user from a userdevice 102 (e.g., as part of a query wrapper). In block 904A, the searchsystem 100 (e.g., the query analysis module 142) may optionally performan analysis of the search query 134. In block 906A, the search system100 may determine content information 136 that indicates one or morenative app states that are accessible by the user of the user device102. As described herein, each native app state may correspond to anentry in a native app (e.g., any of the native app(s) 130, or a nativeapp not installed on the user device 102) for any type of media ordocument. As also described herein, the native app states may beaccessible to the user in the one or more native apps by virtue of theuser having performed any of the following. As one example, the user mayhave access to each of one or more of the native app states in one ormore of the native apps by virtue of using (e.g., launching) the apps(e.g., without first creating a user account for each app). As anotherexample, the user may have created a user account for (e.g., registeredwith) each of one or more of the native apps (e.g., for free, or for afee), thereby gaining access to each of one or more of the native appstates in the apps. Additionally, or alternatively, the user may haveobtained (e.g., for free, or for a fee) access to each of one or more ofthe native app states in the corresponding one of the native apps (e.g.,by first creating a user account for the app, or with no user account).

In some examples, the search system 100 receives the content information136 from the user device 102 (e.g., also as part of the query wrapper,or separately from the search query 134). For example, the user device102 may generate the content information 136 by performing any of thefollowing. As one example, the user device 102 (e.g., the content IDmodule 132) may determine one or more of the native app states indicatedby the content information 136 by detecting (e.g., monitoring) the userobtaining (e.g., purchasing, or gaining free of charge) access to thestates within one or more native apps (e.g., any of the native app(s)130 and/or any other native apps previously installed on the user device102). As another example, the user device 102 (e.g., the content IDmodule 132) may determine one or more of the native app states bydirectly accessing one or more of the native app(s) 130 (e.g., usingcorresponding user login credentials). In this example, upon accessing(e.g., logging into) the native app(s) 130, the user device 102 maydetermine that the user has obtained (e.g., purchased, or gained free ofcharge) or is presently granted access to the native app states withinthe app(s) 130. In still another example, the user device 102 (e.g., thecontent ID module 132) may determine one or more of the native appstates by accessing another memory location on the device 102, oroutside of the device 102 (e.g., a content registry). In yet anotherexample, the user device 102 (e.g., via the content determination system108) may determine one or more of the native app states by querying oneor more APIs (e.g., any of the API(s) 120 and/or other APIs) associatedwith the corresponding one or more native apps (e.g., any of the nativeapp(s) 130 and/or any other native apps that are not installed on theuser device 102). In this example, as part of querying the API(s) (e.g.,using corresponding user login credentials), the user device 102 maydetermine that the user has obtained (e.g., purchased, or gained free ofcharge) or is presently granted access to the native app states withinthe native apps. For example, the user device 102 may determine the APIsassociated with the native apps and, e.g., corresponding user logincredentials, using information retrieved from another location. Theinformation may indicate APIs associated with native apps for which theuser has obtained user accounts (e.g., having user login credentials),and/or for which no user account is required. In other examples, upongenerating the content information 136, the user device 102 may storethe information 136 in a data store where the search system 100 mayretrieve the information 136.

In other examples, the search system 100 may receive the contentinformation 136 from the content determination system 108. The contentdetermination system 108 may generate the content information 136 byperforming any of the following, in a similar manner as described abovewith reference to the user device 102. In one example, the contentdetermination system 108 (e.g., the content determination module 116)may determine one or more of the native app states indicated by thecontent information 136 by accessing a location in the system 108 (e.g.,the content data store 118), or outside of the system 108 (e.g., acontent registry). In another example, the content determination system108 (e.g., the content determination module 116) may determine one ormore of the native app states by querying one or more APIs (e.g., any ofthe API(s) 120 and/or other APIs) associated with the corresponding oneor more native apps (e.g., any of the native app(s) 130 and/or any othernative apps not installed on the user device 102). In this example, thecontent determination system 108 may determine the APIs associated withthe native apps and, e.g., corresponding user login credentials, usinginformation retrieved from the user device 102 and/or another location.The information may indicate APIs associated with native apps for whichthe user has obtained user accounts (e.g., having user logincredentials), and/or for which no user account is required. In responseto querying the APIs (e.g., using the user login credentials), thecontent determination system 108 may determine that the user hasobtained or is presently granted access to the native app states withinthe native apps. In further examples, the content determination system108 (e.g., the content determination module 116) may store the contentinformation 136 in the content data store 118 (e.g., for laterretrieval).

In some examples, the search system 100 receives other information fromthe user device 102 (e.g., as part of the query wrapper, or separately),such as user information and/or geo-location, platform, and IP addressinformation associated with the user device 102. In any case, in block908A, the search system 100 (e.g., the set generation module 144) mayidentify a consideration set of one or more app state records 148included in the search data store 112 based on the (e.g., analyzed)search query 134 and based on the content information 136. In thisexample, each identified app state record 148 may specify an app stateof a native app. The search system 100 (e.g., the set generation module144) may identify the app state records 148 based on matches betweenterms of the search query 134 and terms of information (e.g., app stateIDs 150 and/or ASI 152) included in the records 148. The search system100 (e.g., the set generation module 144) may further identify the appstate records 148 based on matches between the one or more app states ofnative apps specified by the records 148 and the native app statesindicated by the content information 136. For example, the search system100 may identify the app state records 148 such that each record 148both matches the search query 134, as described above, and includes anyof an app state ID 150, ASI 152, and an AAM 154 that describes one ofthe native app states indicated by the content information 136.

In some examples, the search system 100 identifies one or more of theapp state records 148 using content information 136 that has beenpreviously determined, as described above. In other examples, the searchsystem 100 may identify one or more of the app state records 148 usingdynamically-determined content information 136 (e.g., determined on anapp state record-basis and indicating only app states of the identifiedapp state records 148, thereby enhancing user privacy). As one example,for at least one of the identified app state records 148, the searchsystem 100 may query an API associated with the native app referenced bythe AAM 154 included in the record 148. In response to querying the API,the search system 100 may determine that the app state of the native appdescribed by the ASI 152 included in the app state record 148 isaccessible by the user. In some examples, the search system 100initially determines user login credentials associated with the nativeapp and with the user (e.g., determine that the app is associated with auser account having user login credentials belonging to the user) andthen query the API using the user login credentials. In these examples,the search system 100 may determine the native app, user account,associated API, and, e.g., user login credentials, by retrievinginformation from the user device 102 and/or another location. Theinformation may indicate APIs associated with native apps for which theuser has obtained user accounts (e.g., having user login credentials).As another example, at least one of the identified app state records 148may include an indication (e.g., text) that the app state described bythe ASI 152 included in the record 148 is accessible by all users. Inthis example, the search system 100 may determine that the app state isaccessible by the user based on the indication.

In blocks 910A-912A, the search system 100 (e.g., the set processingmodule 146) may optionally process the consideration set of app staterecords 148. Specifically, in block 910A, the search system 100 maygenerate one or more result scores for the app state records 148included in the consideration set. For example, the search system 100may generate a result score for each app state record 148 included inthe consideration set. In block 912A, the search system 100 may selectone or more (e.g., a subset of the) app state records 148 from theconsideration set based on the one or more result scores associated withthe selected records 148. For example, the search system 100 may selectone or more app state records 148 having the highest (e.g., largest) oneor more result scores. In any case, in block 914A, the search system 100(e.g., the search result generation module 114) may select one or moreAAMs from the (e.g., selected) app state records 148 of theconsideration set. For example, the search system 100 may select one ormore AAMs from each (e.g., selected) app state record 148. In someexamples, the search system 100 also selects other information from the(e.g., selected) app state records 148, such as result scores, linkdata, and/or accessibility data associated with the records 148. Inblock 916A, the search system 100 (e.g., the search result generationmodule 114) may generate one or more search results 138 that include theselected AAMs. For example, the search system 100 may generate thesearch results 138 such that each result 138 includes one or more AAMs(and, e.g., other information) selected from each (e.g., selected) appstate record 148 of the consideration set. In block 918A, the searchsystem 100 (e.g., the search result generation module 114) may transmitthe search results 138, including the selected AAMs and any otherinformation, to the user device 102 that generated the search query 134.

With reference to FIG. 9B, blocks 902B-904B are analogous to blocks902A-904A described above. In block 906B, the search system 100 (e.g.,the set generation module 144) may identify a consideration set of oneor more app state records 148 included in the search data store 112based on the (e.g., analyzed) search query 134. In this example, eachidentified app state record 148 may specify an app state of an app, asdescribed herein. For example, the search system 100 (e.g., the setgeneration module 144) may identify the app state records 148 based onmatches between terms of the search query 134 and terms of information(e.g., app state IDs 150 and/or ASI 152) included in the records 148, asalso described herein. In block 908B, the search system 100 maydetermine content information 136, in a similar manner as describedabove with reference to FIG. 9A. For example, the search system 100 mayreceive the content information 136 from the user device 102 or from thecontent determination system 108. The user device 102 or the contentdetermination system 108 may generate the content information 136 usingany of the techniques previously described with reference to FIG. 9A.The search system 100 may receive other data from the user device 102,e.g., user information and/or geo-location, platform, and IP addressinformation associated with the user device 102, as also describedabove.

In blocks 910B-914B, the search system 100 (e.g., the set processingmodule 146) may process the consideration set of app state records 148.In particular, in block 910B, the search system 100 may generate aresult scores for each app state record 148 included in theconsideration set based on the content information 136. For example, thesearch system 100 may generate each result score using the contentinformation 136 as (e.g., part of) a scoring feature in conjunction witha machine-learned regression model, as described herein. As a specificexample, the search system 100 may generate each result score based onwhether the app state specified by the corresponding app state record148 is any of the native app states accessible to the user of the userdevice 102, as indicated by the content information 136. In someexamples, the search system 100 further generates each result scorebased on one or more additional scoring features, e.g., record, query,and/or record-query scoring features, as described herein. In block912B, the search system 100 (e.g., the set processing module 146) mayorder (e.g., rank) the app state records 148 of the consideration setbased on the corresponding result scores (e.g., arrange the records 148in the order of decreasing result scores). In block 914B, the searchsystem 100 (e.g., the set processing module 146) may select one or moreof the ordered app state records 148 from the consideration set (e.g., asubset of the ordered app state records 148 defined by a result scorethreshold, the subset including one or more highest-ranking records148).

In block 916B, the search system 100 (e.g., the search result generationmodule 114) may select one or more AAMs from the selected app staterecords 148, e.g., along with other information, such as result scores,link data, and/or accessibility data associated with the records 148, asdescribed herein. In block 918B, the search system 100 may generate oneor more search results 138 that include the selected AAMs and any otherinformation and, in block 920B, transmit the results 138, including theselected AAMs, to the user device 102 that generated the search query134, as also described herein.

FIG. 10A is a flow diagram that illustrates an example method 1000A forgenerating app state search results 138 at a user device 102 based on asearch query 134 specified by a user of the user device 102 and contentinformation 136 associated with the user. As shown in FIG. 10A, in block1002A, the user device 102 may receive a search query 134 (e.g., a textstring) from the user. For example, the user device 102 may receive thesearch query 134 via (e.g., a GUI of) a search app 128 executing on theuser device 102. In block 1004A, the user device 102 may transmit thesearch query 134 to the search system 100 (e.g., as part of a querywrapper). The search system 100 may receive the search query 134 fromthe user device 102 and generate one or more search results 138 based onthe search query 134. As described herein, the search results 138 mayinclude one or more AAMs, result scores, link data, and/or accessibilitydata. The search system 100 may then transmit the search results 138 tothe user device 102. In block 1006A, the user device 102 may receive thesearch results 138, including the AAMs, from the search system 100 inresponse to transmitting the search query 134 to the search system 100.

In block 1008A, the user device 102 may identify one or more native appstates that are accessible to the user (e.g., content information 136),in a similar manner as described above with reference to FIGS. 9A and9B. As described herein, the user device 102 (e.g., the search app 128)may identify the native app states using the content ID module 132(e.g., by detecting the user obtaining access to the states within oneor more native apps, accessing one or more of the native app(s) 130,accessing another location within or outside of the device 102, orquerying one or more APIs associated with the corresponding one or morenative apps).

In block 1010A, the user device 102 may determine whether any of theAAMs included in the search results 138 specify any of the native appstates. For example, an AAM included in the search results 138specifying one of the native app states may indicate that the user mayaccess the app state specified by the AAM (i.e., the one of the nativeapp states) within the corresponding native app. In a specific example,the user device 102 may, for each of the AAMs, determine whether thenative app referenced by the AAM performing the one or more operationsindicated by the AAM sets the app into any of the native app states.

In block 1012A, the user device 102 may display the AAMs included in thesearch results 138 to the user as one or more user selectable linksbased on the above-described determination. For example, each userselectable link may include one or more of the AAMs and, e.g., thecorresponding link and/or accessibility data also received as part ofthe search results 138. As one example, the user device 102 may filterthe search results 138 based on the determination by displaying onlythose of the AAMs that specify any of the native app states as userselectable links. In other words, the user device 102 may select onlythose of the AAMs that specify app states that are accessible by theuser. As another example, the user device 102 may rank the searchresults 138 based on the determination by generating a result score foreach AAM based on whether the AAM specifies any of the native app states(e.g., based on whether the app state specified by the AAM is accessibleto the user). In some examples, the user device 102 further generatesthe result score for the AAM based on the corresponding result scorereceived as part of the search results 138. In any case, the user device102 may further rank (e.g., order) user selectable links including theAAMs based on the corresponding result scores.

FIG. 10B is a flow diagram that illustrates an example method 1000B forperforming one or more example actions in response to a user of a userdevice 102 interacting with app state search results 138 displayed tothe user on the user device 102. As shown in FIG. 10B, in block 1002B,the user device 102 may initially determine (e.g., detect) that the userhas selected one of the user selectable links displayed to the user asdescribed above with reference to FIG. 10A. As also shown, in block1004B, in response to detecting the user selection, the user device 102may determine whether to perform any of the following actions. As oneexample, as shown in blocks 1006B and 1008B, the user device 102 maylaunch a native app referenced by the selected user selectable link(e.g., by an AAM included in the link) and set the app into an app statespecified by the link (e.g., by the AAM). As another example, as shownin blocks 1010B and 1012B, the user device 102 may download the nativeapp (e.g., from a digital distribution platform using an ADA alsoincluded in the selected user selectable link) and install the app. Inthis example, upon downloading and installing the native app, the userdevice 102 may launch the app and set the app into the app state, in asimilar manner as described above with reference to blocks 1006B and1008B. As still another example, as shown in blocks 1014B and 1016B, theuser device 102 may launch a web browser app 126 and access a URLcorresponding to an app state of a web-based app (e.g., using a WAM alsoincluded in the selected user selectable link). The app state of theweb-based app may be an equivalent of the app state of the native appdescribed above.

The user device 102 may determine whether to perform any combination ofthe above-described actions. As one example, in the event the native appreferenced by the selected user selectable link is installed on the userdevice 102, the user device 102 may launch the app and set the app intothe app state. As another example, in the event the native app is notinstalled on the user device 102, the user device 102 may download andinstall the app (e.g., followed by launching the app and setting the appinto the app state). As still another example, in the event the userdevice 102 lacks sufficient storage space and/or communications networkbandwidth to download and/or install the native app as described above,the user device 102 may launch the web browser app 126 and access theURL corresponding to the web equivalent of the app state.

In additional examples, the search system 100 may generate one or moreadditional search results (not shown) that include content that is notassociated with app states of native apps (e.g., content related tonative apps, web sites, documents, and/or media files). In theseexamples, the search system 100 may identify one or more records (e.g.,app records, or other data structures) stored in a data store thatinclude the content based on the search query 134, in a similar manneras described above. The search system 100 may select the content fromthe identified records and transmit the content to the user device 102with the search results 138.

The modules and data stores included in the search system 100 andcontent determination system 108 represent features that may be includedin these systems 100, 108 as they are described in the presentdisclosure. For example, the search module 110, search result generationmodule 114, and search data store 112 may represent features included inthe search system 100. Similarly, the content determination module 116and content data store 118 may represent features included in thecontent determination system 108. The modules and data stores describedherein may be embodied by electronic hardware, software, firmware, orany combination thereof. Depiction of different features as separatemodules and data stores does not necessarily imply whether the modulesand data stores are embodied by common or separate electronic hardware,software, or firmware components. In some implementations, the featuresassociated with the modules and data stores depicted herein are realizedby common or separate electronic hardware, software, and/or firmwarecomponents.

The modules and data stores may be embodied by electronic hardware,software, and/or firmware components, including one or more processingunits, one or more memory components, one or more input/output (I/O)components, and interconnect components. The interconnect components maybe configured to provide communication between the processing units,memory components, and I/O components. For example, the interconnectcomponents may include one or more buses configured to transfer databetween electronic components. The interconnect components may alsoinclude control circuits (e.g., a memory controller and/or an I/Ocontroller) configured to control communication between electroniccomponents.

The processing units may include one or more central processing units(CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), digital signal processingunits (DSPs), or other processing units. The processing units may beconfigured to communicate with the memory components and I/O components.For example, the processing units may be configured to communicate withthe memory components and I/O components via the interconnectcomponents.

A memory component, or memory, may include any volatile or non-volatilemedia. For example, the memory may include electrical media, magneticmedia, and/or optical media, such as a random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), electrically-erasableprogrammable ROM (EEPROM), Flash memory, hard disk drives (HDDs), solidstate drives (SSDs), magnetic tape drives, optical storage technology(e.g., compact disc, digital versatile disc, and/or Blu-ray disc), orany other memory components.

The memory components may include (e.g., store) the data describedherein. For example, the memory components may include the data includedin the app state record(s) 148 of the search data store 112 and/or thedata included in any of the content data store 118 and API data store(s)122. The memory components may also include instructions that may beexecuted by the processing units. For example, the memory components mayinclude computer-readable instructions that, when executed by theprocessing units, cause the processing units to perform the variousfunctions attributed to the modules and data stores described herein.

The I/O components may refer to electronic hardware, software, and/orfirmware providing communication with a variety of different devices.For example, the I/O components may provide communication between otherdevices and the processing units and memory components. In someexamples, the I/O components are configured to communicate with acomputer network. For example, the I/O components may be configured toexchange data over a computer network using a variety of differentphysical connections, wireless connections, and protocols. The I/Ocomponents may include network interface components (e.g., a networkinterface controller), repeaters, network bridges, network switches,routers, and firewalls. In some examples, the I/O components includehardware, software, and/or firmware configured to communicate withvarious human interface devices, including display screens, keyboards,pointer devices (e.g., a mouse), touchscreens, speakers, andmicrophones. In some examples, the I/O components include hardware,software, and/or firmware configured to communicate with additionaldevices, such as external memory (e.g., external HDDs).

In some implementations, the search system 100 and/or contentdetermination system 108 is a system of one or more computing devices(e.g., a computer search system) configured to implement the techniquesdescribed herein. Put another way, the features attributed to themodules and data stores described herein may be implemented by one ormore computing devices. Each computing device may include anycombination of electronic hardware, software, and/or firmware describedabove. For example, each computing device may include any combination ofthe processing units, memory components, I/O components, andinterconnect components described above. The computing devices may alsoinclude various human interface devices, including display screens,keyboards, pointing devices (e.g., a mouse), touchscreens, speakers, andmicrophones. The computing devices may also be configured to communicatewith additional devices, such as external memory (e.g., external HDDs).

The computing devices of the search system 100 and/or contentdetermination system 108 may be configured to communicate with thenetwork 106. The computing devices may also be configured to communicatewith one another via a computer network. In some examples, the computingdevices include one or more server computing devices configured tocommunicate with the user device(s) 102 (e.g., receive search queries134 and content information 136 and transmit search results 138), gatherdata from the data source(s) 104, index the data, store the data, andstore other documents or media. In some examples, the computing devicesreside within one or more machines at a single geographic location. Inother examples, the computing devices may be distributed across a numberof geographic locations.

Additionally, the various implementations of the search system 100 andcontent determination system 108 described above (e.g., using one ormore computing devices that include one or more processing units, memorycomponents, I/O components, and interconnect components) are equallyapplicable to any of the user device(s) 102 and API(s) 120, as well asto the various components thereof, as described herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving a search queryfrom a user device; identifying one or more native applications that areaccessible by the user device; identifying one or more application staterecords by matching between at least one of the search query and the oneor more native application states and one or more terms of informationincluded in the one or more application state records; selecting one ormore application access mechanisms (AAMs) from the identified one ormore application state records; and transmitting the selected one ormore AAMs to the user device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein eachapplication state record includes the AAMs and application stateinformation (ASI).
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the ASI describes astate of the native application after the native application hasperformed the one or more operations.
 4. The method of claim 2, whereinat least one of the identified one or more application state recordsincludes an indication that the state described by the ASI included inthe application state record is accessible by all.
 5. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: for at least one of the identified one ormore application state records, generating accessibility data thatindicates that the state described by the ASI included in theapplication state record is accessible by the user of the user devicewithin the native application referenced by the AAMs included in theapplication state record.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein identifyingthe one or more application state records based on the search querycomprises identifying each application state record based on one or morematches between one or more terms of the search query and one or moreterms of the ASI included in the application state record.
 7. The methodof claim 2, further comprising: generating a result score for each ofthe identified one or more application state records based on whetherthe ASI included in the application state record describes one of theone or more native application states; and ordering the identified oneor more application state records based on the one or more resultscores, wherein the selecting of the one or more application staterecords comprises selecting the one or more application state recordsfrom the ordered one or more application state records.
 8. The method ofclaim 8, wherein generating the result score for each of the identifiedone or more application state records comprises generating the resultscore using a machine-learned model comprising one of a gradient-boosteddecision tree and a logistic probability formula.
 9. The method of claim1, wherein the AAMs reference a native application and indicates one ormore operations for the native application to perform.
 10. A methodcomprising: transmitting, using a user device, a search query to asearch system configured to generate search results in response to areceived search query; receiving search results from the search systemat the user device in response to transmitting the search query, whereinthe search results include one or more application access mechanisms(AAMs) that each reference a native application and indicate one or moreoperations for the native application to perform, the AAMs is selectedfrom an one or more application state records by the search system, theone or more application state records identified by matching between atleast one of the search query and one or more native application stateswhich are accessible by the user device, and one or more terms ofinformation included in the one or more application state records;determining, using the user device, whether the native applicationreferenced by the AAMs performing the one or more operations indicatedby the AAMs sets the native application into any of the one or morenative application states; and displaying the one or more AAMs at theuser device based on the determination.
 11. A search system comprising:a transceiver configured to receive a search query from a user device;and at least one processor configured to: identify one or more nativeapplications that are accessible by a user of the user device, identifyone or more application state records by matching between at least oneof the search query and the one or more native application states andone or more terms of information included in the one or more applicationstate records, select one or more application access mechanisms (AAMs)from the identified one or more application state records, and controlthe transceiver to transmit the selected one or more AAMs to the userdevice.
 12. The search system of claim 11, wherein each applicationstate record includes the AAM and application state information (ASI).13. The search system of claim 12, wherein the ASI describes a state ofthe native application after the native application has performed theone or more operations.
 14. The search system of claim 12, wherein atleast one of the identified one or more application state recordsincludes an indication that the state described by the ASI included inthe application state record is accessible by all.
 15. The search systemof claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configuredto: generate a result score for each of the identified one or moreapplication state records based on whether the ASI included in theapplication state record describes one of the one or more nativeapplication states, and order the identified one or more applicationstate records based on the one or more result scores, wherein theselecting of the one or more application state records comprisesselecting the one or more application state records from the ordered oneor more application state records
 16. The search system of claim 11,wherein the AAMs reference a native application and indicates one ormore operations for the native application to perform.
 17. A user devicecomprising: a display; a transceiver configured to: transmit, a searchquery to a search system configured to generate search results inresponse to a received search query, and receive search results from thesearch system in response to transmitting the search query, wherein thesearch results include one or more application access mechanisms (AAMs)that each reference a native application and indicate one or moreoperations for the native application to perform, the AAMs are selectedfrom an one or more application state records by the search system, theone or more application state records identified by matching between atleast one of the search query and one or more native application stateswhich are accessible by the user device, and one or more terms ofinformation included in the one or more application state records; andat least one processor configured to: determine whether the nativeapplication referenced by the AAMs performing the one or more operationsindicated by the AAMs sets the native application into any of the one ormore native application states, and control the display to display theone or more AAMs based on the determination.